From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
Pihu snorted. Shrugging at the stranger's question, the raven shook the bottle a bit, the contents sloshing. "Sometimes. It depends on the drink, how much ye have, an' the company yer drinkin' with." As the other woman took the rum, the Attuned grinned. "I'm P, by the way."
Bending down to pick up her skirt, she slipped into it. Scooting closer to the pool, she sat down and dipped her toes into it. "Whatever calls to ye. If I was ye, I'd sell it to some poor sap for somethin' of value, but then again I'm the pragmatic sort." She stared into the depths of the water.
They say these are the golden years But I wish I could disappear
“Chaele,” they reply to the name Pihu gives, perhaps less careful with who is allowed to speak it. Then, apparently satisfied that the rum was no more poisonous than any other alcohol, they bring the glass bottle to their broken lips and tip their head back to draw a bit onto their tongue. The mask is pushed back to accomplish this, revealing deep scars on their chin.
The bottle comes down again, the rum is swallowed with a little wince, and Chaele offers it back. “Alas, I am more likely to be the sap than to deceive,” they mention, holding the stone up before their eyes so that it seems to straddle the horizon like a setting sun. “This stone has as much value as it is given, and not just in coin. Blue is the color of creativity and wisdom. Stones are the embodiment of foundations and grit. Every item in the world is woven with meaning, instilled with the intentions of everyone who held or used it. If I were to keep it, I could use it in a spell or ritual. It is its own kind of luck-making.”
Nodding at Chaele's introduction, Pihu flashed the woman a grin. Accepting the bottle back, the raven raised her eyebrows when the other woman declared herself an easy mark. However, the thief didn't respond to that. Instead, her gaze was drawn to the stone in the masked lady's hand.
Pihu brought the bottle up for a swig. However, she paused with the mouth of it hovering on her lips. "What makes blue the color of creativity and wisdom?" Taking a drink, she shrugged. "Seems like colors are just colors." Swirling the contents of the bottle around, she tilted her head to the side. "Spells, huh? So you're an Abandoned then?"
Jerking her chin at the pool, the Attuned splashed the water with the foot she had dangling in it. "So ye gonna throw it or not? Or hold onto it for these rituals of yers?" She chuckled and looked up at Chaele.
They say these are the golden years But I wish I could disappear
“The colors are what we make of them. Take the blue of the ocean, for example-- the wisdom and wits one must have to sail those waters. It is the color that reflects in the eyes of the sailors, which they associate with grit and loneliness and freedom. And so the meaning of the color gets passed to those that associate with them, and through our collective understanding of the color, we give it meaning.”
They speak with slow certainty, as if she has said some version of these words before. They gesture with the stone, looking between it and Pihu. “I have learned that everything has a spirit. An intention, built up by all of its associations. A color, an object, an animal, a person. And my magic is fuelled by that intention. That symbolism.”
She closes the stone in her hand and, after a moment’s consideration, tucks it away into a pouch on her belt. “No, it has too much meaning now. I will keep it.”
Eying the stone and then the ocean, Pihu pointed up at the sky above with her free hand. "Ocean isn't always blue and the sky is sometimes blue too." She narrowed her eyes at Chaele. "Ye could just as easily say ye need wits and wisdom to navigate the jungle or the city streets, couldn't ye? Maybe I just ain't a part of the collective." Laughing, the raven rolled the bottle between her palms.
Raising her eyebrows, her lips parted a bit. "Really? Never met an Abandoned like ye." She cocked her head to the side as she considered the other woman. "So ye can't just wave yer hand and cast a spell? Ye gotta prepare in advance?" Taking a swig, the thief shook her head at that idea.
"Suit yerself." Standing up, she picked up a pebble for herself and tossed it up and down in her free hand. "Ye gonna make any wish then?" Throwing the stone she skipped it across the pool. It hit the other end and started to sink.
They say these are the golden years But I wish I could disappear
“Yes, yes," she agrees with Pihu's counter arguments with a dismissive wave. "The color of the ocean in a storm has different associations than its color on a clear day. The color of the sky has different associations than the color of a blue sapphire gem. Each has its own symbolism, which can be harnessed in combination with other symbols to form a whole intention. That is what a spell is, and it is useful for more magics than those that are inherent to my blood.”
Her shoulders roll in a shrug. “I have not met many others with magic like mine, as well. But I have also not met many people. Some magics are easier to harness than others.” Her hand flourishes as if to summon magic, but nothing visible comes of it. Her voice is stretched like a smile as she adds, “I can show you, if you like.”
Frowning as Chaele explained her magic, Pihu pointed the mouth of her bottle at the Abandoned. The raven's brow was furrowed and she spoke in a slow drawl. "But who or what makes the decisions about what represents what? And what does yer magic actually do when ye cast it?" She swept her gaze over the other woman. "Seems to me something ye can actually rely on would be far more useful than yer superstitious rituals."
Shrugging at the offer, the thief took another sip of rum. "Show me what?" Standing up, she squeezed out her hair again; a few more droplets pooled into her hand and she shook it to get rid of the moisture.
They say these are the golden years But I wish I could disappear
“The easy magic,” she replies to the final question, one hand rising to slide along the opposite forearm in a pensive gesture. Then her arm tightens and bends as her hand falls into its crook, like a decision or a dare. “Unless you would prefer to witness a more complicated ritual. A divination, a warding, an augmentation.”
She looks toward the little puddle that was left behind by the strained hair, which joins with the wet rock and is eventually swallowed up by the undulating waves just beyond. The translucent aquamarine of a Torcher coast was another shade of blue, like sea glass and secrets.
“No one makes the decisions,” Chaele clarifies, her skull-mask turned at just the right angle for her to see Pihu clearly out of one dark eye. “Or really, we all do. By associating the color with certain emotions or virtues or ideas, we instill those same symbols into the color. That is all magic is, all spirits are. The power of our collective intention.”
Shaking her head, Pihu grinned. "Nah, I'm good with easy." Laughing, she inclined her head once towards Chale. The raven took a sip of her rum, but kept her eyes trained on the Abandoned the whole time. If needed, the thief would shift around so the other woman had room for her ritual.
Frowing, Pihu tapped a finger against the bottle. "Ye say collective, but I've never heard of it." She cocked her head to one side. "How are ye such an expert on it, then?" Twirling the bottle around her fingers, she raised her eyebrows at Chaele and gestured for the Abandoned to explain as best as she could. Preferably in small words.
They say these are the golden years But I wish I could disappear
“It is a matter of philosophy. An idea about the truth of the world, which has served me in my magical practice and my survival in this world. You would do well to compare mine to others, and see which guides you best.” She leans toward Pihu, reading at the energies around her with quick-moving eyes. The magic Chaele hopes to summon requires this scrutiny, this preparation, until her eyes lock on some narrow spot just over the Attuned’s shoulder. “You are part of the collective intention whether you like it or not. By mere virtue of your existence.”
Then she reaches abruptly for that same spot behind Pihu’s ear, wrapping her hand around something unseen and pulling on it, as if on a rope. The webbing of raised runes on the shaman’s arms seems to darken then, faint shadows elongating in the midafternoon sun. The darkness rises like wisps of smoke from her flesh, then coalesces into a black thread that snakes around Pihu’s neck and torso. With every inch it travels, it slowly sucks the energy from its target.
Chaele watches the other woman's eyes closely now, studying the effects of her magic.
Since Chaele was indeed watching Pihu closely, the Abandoned would notice when the raven's eyes widened. Jaw dropping, she could feel the energy leaving her, making her feel sluggish and weak. "Oi! Cut it out." She practically screamed the words at the other woman.
Almost unbidden, the thief felt the arm holding the bottle lift up. She brought it smashing down towards Chaele; Pihu's target was the Abandoned's hand, the one directing the magic, but the raven would take any part of the other woman that she could reach. "That's not some great mystery, that's just life drain ye mad old bat." The thief bared her teeth at the Abandoned.
They say these are the golden years But I wish I could disappear
Chaele gasps faintly and withdraws as soon as she sees the bottle rise, but she is not quick enough to avoid the collision of the heavy glass against her knuckles. She brings her stinging hand into the nursing grasp of the other, of course lacking the healing magic that might ease her pain. Perhaps ridiculously, a raspy laugh escapes her.
“It is as I said,” she defends through a hidden grin, uninsulted. “The easy magic.”
Her eyes remain locked on Pihu’s dark browns, vigilant of the rapid shifts from idle incredulity to compelled languor to shock and anger and bitterness. She has never attempted her life drain on a person before, and it is thrilling to watch it manifest in intelligent eyes no matter the consequences. There is little regret in her voice as she wonders, “You speak as if you know magic yourself.”
Rolling her eyes at Chaele's response, Pihu pointed the bottom of the bottle at the Abandoned. "Feckin' shite woman, call it what ye like but don't attach so much mystery to it." The Attuned brandished her makeshift weapon as she backed away from the other woman.
She paused at a decent distance from Chaele. Frowning, the raven narrowed her eyes at the shaman. "I know the basics. Life drain, healin', the elemental stuff, yeah. I know there are more complicated ones out there too, but I couldn't tell you what they were." Glaring at the other woman, the thief started retreating again. "I think our conversation is over."
They say these are the golden years But I wish I could disappear
Chaele’s sigh holds the pitch of an eye roll, though she does not take her gaze from the other woman. It was risky enough for the Abandoned to do what she has already done; the other ideas were ill-advised at best. Likewise, it is a wise enough choice for the Attuned to leave when she does. “The world is mysterious,” she replies with a stubborn shrug. “Maybe you should attach more meaning to the things you do.”
But she does not object, does not beckon or apologize. Her voice would raise as the rolling waves of the shoreline hiss between them, and then it would fall to silence as she watches Pihu retreat. Then Chaele turns toward the horizon, grinning.
